TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3
Psalm 81:1-16
Proverbs 25:6-8
Jeremiah 16:17 — God is watching! God is watching our ways, and He sees our actions. My wife is very observant, but I can hide stuff from her. The CIA may be tracing my laptop, but there are ways with torrents and proxies to hide my internet traffic. Nothing is hid from our God, however. “… neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.”
Jeremiah 17:5-8 — I just talked to the desk clerk at the hotel I’m staying tonight. He enjoys learning and philosophy, yet due to a tragedy in his family, he seems to think that if there was a loving God, then He would have prevented it. Instead of trusting in God, he trusts in the potential of mankind. Pray for him that God would reach him and heal his hurting heart (Jeremiah 17:14).
Sadly, God warns us against trusting in man. He gives a vivid contrast between trusting in man (like a heath in the desert) and trusting in God (a tree planted by the waters).
Jeremiah 17:19-20 — Jeremiah the street preacher! Yes, today we can speak on the sidewalks of America and warn the nation about the sin in our country.
Jeremiah 17:25 — God had offered to protect the city from invasion forever if they would obey. Seven hundred years later, the people would crucify the King who entered the city by the Eastern Gate (Luke 19:37).
Jeremiah 18:9-10 — During the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin said:
“I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth – that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?”
https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/benfranklin.htm
Jeremiah 18:19-23 — Notice the abrupt changes from the beginning of this chapter:
- Jeremiah hears the word of the LORD
- The people plot revenge against Jeremiah
- Jeremiah prays a very personal, impassioned, private imprecatory prayer to the LORD
I Thessalonians 4:3 — God tells us what His will is for our lives. The same thing we’ve read in the Old Testament: obedience!
I Thessalonians 4:16-17 — This is a great promise that God has given us. We will not miss the rapture of the Church!
Psalm 81:13 — What blessings in your life has God withheld because of your disobedience?
Proverbs 25:7 — Humility is a valuable virtue to follow.
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